Mobile or cellular telephones may store important information including personal information, such as address books and electronic money. Stricter personal authentication modules, such as fingerprint authentication, are now often implemented as security measures of such mobile telephones, which may be advantageous upon loss of them for example.
Meanwhile, personal computers (PCs) such as notebook PCs may also often store confidential information and personal information. Not only passwords but also stricter personal authentication schemes, such as biometric authentication, e.g. IC cards and fingerprint authentication, are now employed as security measures of such PCs, which may be advantageous upon loss of them for example.
Japanese Patent Application Publication JP 2001-117878-A published on Apr. 27, 2001 describes a system for identifying and authenticating individual persons. In this identifying and authenticating system, a mobile communication device detects biometric information of an operator, transmits it as authentication data and receives a connection permitting signal or a connection non-permitting signal corresponding to the authentication data. A function embodied apparatus receives authentication data from the communication device, and transmits this data. The apparatus further transmits the connection permitting signal for permitting connection to the apparatus, when it receives an authentication result for the authentication data and the authentication result indicates that the authentication data is to be positively authenticated. The apparatus further transmits the connection non-permitting signal not for permitting connection to the apparatus, when the authentication result indicates that the authentication data is not to be authenticated. An authentication center receives the authentication data from the function embodied apparatus checks whether or not the authentication data is to be positively authenticated, and transmits the authentication result for transmitting the authentication result. In this identifying and authenticating system, the mobile communication device in conjunction with the center authenticates the operator's biometric information, and permits his or her login to the function embodied apparatus with the use of the authentication result.
The Web page of http://ne.nikkeibp.co.jp/members/NEWS/20040722/104597/dated Jul. 22, 2004 describes registering a mobile telephone with a notebook PC and allowing user's login to the notebook PC if the mobile telephone is located nearby.